Saugatuck Brewing Company

Ah, sleep. Lots of it. J and I played the old married couple part last night and hit the hay well before we normally would on a Saturday night. SNL was a rerun and the NASCAR race wasn’t exciting enough to keep us up.

When we both work up much later than I thought we would, we started thinking about lunch right away. We decided to go on a road trip just because we could. I had places in Marshall and Allegan that I wanted to try, but just as I was getting ready to close the laptop and put some jeans on so we could leave, I suddenly remembered one of the few brew pubs in West Michigan we haven’t been to yet.

The Saugatuck Brewing Company is on Blue Star Highway in Douglas just south of the Saugatuck city line. I have been by the building a couple times, so I didn’t bother putting it in to a GPS. I started looking as we got closer to town, but I still drove right by it. From the road, it’s not a super fancy place. There’s a large green sign out near the road, but the building is a large industrial looking building next to an antique shop. The building is home to not only the Lucky Stone Pub where we were heading, but the production line and Bier Hall also take up space in the 25,000 square foot facility.

We passed right by the outdoor patio which was a pretty popular option on this sunny spring day, but it was still a little to chilly for us. We headed into the pub and took a table near the “Brew Your Own Beer” kettles. Yes, you can actually brew your own beer at SBC. Something I will have to look in to and see if I can get some friends on board.

Anyway, the Lucky Stone Pub is actually a pretty large space with a large bar featuring the SBC line. Beer lists are on chalkboards on either side of the bar. When I walked in, I had it in my head that I was going to order the Singapore IPA. I cracked under pressure for some odd reason and ordered the ESB Amber. J asked if it was something she would like. I said yes, so she ordered one as well. I should have said no and told her to order the Oval Beach Blonde Ale which is really more of her style. I really liked the ESB Amber. It’s a British Style Extra Special Bitter that has a bitter, but not overpowering flavor. J wasn’t as big of a fan and I actually drank half of hers. I really wanted to order that Singapore IPA after that, but I guess I’ll just make a run to Tiffany’s and pick one up there instead…or just go back sometime this summer.

The pub menu is pretty typical for a brew pub. We both stuck to sandwiches like we always do, but I know there were some appetizers that J was itching to try. The Drunken Hummus was calling her name, but she didn’t do it this time.

I ordered the Irish Cheeseburger. That’s a local, fresh 1/2 lb beef patty with Irish Cheddar, lettuce, and tomato on an Onion Roll. The recommended beer pairing is the ESB or Porter, so I made the right choice in beer. The sandwich was smothered with the Irish cheddar. The meat had a great smokey flavor almost like it was grilled over charcoal. It had a great outer char but it was still very juicy and incredibly tasty. The onion roll didn’t bother me at all. In fact, I almost didn’t even notice it was an onion roll. The sandwich comes with chips, but I upgraded to hand cut fries for a buck and it was worth it.

J went with the Grilled Ham & Cheese. That sandwich is house smoked peppered ham with provolone, brewer’s cheese, red onions, tomatoes, spicy mustard, and a sun dried tomato mayo on marbled rye bread. The ham was delicious. It had a strong smoky flavor which we both really liked. J said the mustard was a little overpowering at times, but other than that, she had nothing but good things to say about the sandwich. She only ate half because she also upgraded to the fries and I think that was her favorite part of the meal.

Even with the two beers, our bill was just a little under $25. Brew pubs are some of my favorite places on the planet and Saugatuck Brewing is one of the good ones. I probably should have done a beer flight so I could have tasted a wider range of their brews, but there’s always next time…and there will be a next time.